Comforting postcard of a simpler time
Added 3/11/2010
The year 1985 was not that long ago, and yet, after watching "The Aviator" for the first time since its theatrical release, I realized it could just as well have been 100 years. It's such an old-fashioned film, the kind they don't make anymore. Period films, adventure films, wilderness survival films - you name it - "The Aviator" feels like it's from another dimension. It wears these sensibilities on its sleeve, and for that one must give it a grudging nod of respect.
Director George Miller, who just a few years prior had piloted the surprising box office sleeper The Man From Snowy River, another work cut from old-fashioned cloth, purposefully sets the tone during the opening credits. We are shown pseudo snapshots of an antique shaving kit, a period water faucet, a dusty book, and we realize this is a tribute to an era when Cary Grant, John Wayne or even Errol Flynn were the kings of adventure cinema. What better actor to take on such lofty heights than Superman - The Movie himself Christopher Reeve? He's up to the task - for the most part - and gives one of his better performances of an all-too-short career.
He plays a 1920's pilot working for the U.S. Post Office. He's a surly loner, carrying the scars of a tragic crash from World War I. Every one wishes to be his friend, including the lovely Rose (Marcia Strassman), but he stares at the floor and essentially says, "I don't deserve love." He's forced to fly a wealthy teenager, the spoiled and troubled Tillie, across the mountains to Seattle. Played by none other than Rosanna Arquette (at the peak of popularity following the independent success of Baby It's You), she's being sent away to live with an aunt and hisses at just about everything around her, including Reeves. During a flight stopover at a rustic airport diner, they argue and sling insults. The plane eventually crashes in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest and they are forced to survive in snowy conditions with a pack of wolves nearby.
It's all fairly predictable as Reeves and Arquette warm up to each other as they emerge from their shells of hatred. In the meantime, both Tillie's father and the post office supervisor, played by the incomparable Sam Wanamaker and Jack Warden, frantically try to find them. The enormously appealing Warden is memorable as a handicapped flyboy veteran with a soft heart. It's all surprisingly touching (and harmless), wrapped with a warm bow. I like the growing romance between Reeves and Arquette, an odd couple to say the least. While they steal nothing more than a momentary kiss, it's fairly clear romance is out of the question (he's in his 30s, she's 17). But together, they have discovered renewed self respect in this variation on the True Grit (Special Collector's Edition) dynamic.
The film is based on the novel The Aviator by Ernest K. Gann, a great American writer of the Jack London vein, who loved flying and sailing and sprinkling his novels with first-hand experiences (Fate is the Hunter, Song of the Sirens). There are nice touches of authenticity throughout, and it's interesting to see the early days of flight and the primitive beginnings of the U.S. Postal Service. I had trouble accepting the trials of winter survival as Reeves and Arquette battle a pack of ravenous wolves in yet another film inaccurately portraying the animals as killers of humans. I also struggled with Reeves' performance. He was such a genuine good guy in real life, it was always a stretch to see him play the darker roles (Street Smart). The bitter insults are rather forced, and there's a nerdiness about him during the more physical scenes (he lacks the intimidating stature of Wayne or Flynn).
But "The Aviator" has its heart in the right place, spiced with a nice musical score and golden-hued cinematography. It's a comforting postcard of a simpler time, stretching further away.
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Remake of "Island in the Sky" ?
Added 8/4/2009
Not a bad little flick, but it smacks of the John Wayne, Lloyd Nolan, James Arness, Andy Devine movie of 1953 "Island in the Sky".
Sure looks like a remake to me! Mail pilot (and crew) down in the cold... fellow pilots looking for them...
Yeah... it's a remake.
Check out John Wayne's "Island in the Sky" and judge for yourselves. I think it was a LOT better.
(And... BTW, Wolves never attack people).
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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a very good movie. i've enjoyed it. i found it difficult to watch C. reeve. still miss him.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Read the Book
Added 11/25/2008
If you had read the book, you would know how disappointing this movie is. Actually, reading the book now would show you what I mean.
The ony commonality between movie and the book is that a mailplane crashed and had a passenger, but the passenger was a young child and it wasn't the pilot who was injured. It is a great book. Can't say so much about the movie.
Bare
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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The aviator
Added 7/3/2008
Based on a very good book from E.K. Gann, this movie is unfortunately of less quality. Good adventure movie anyway.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Comforting postcard of a simpler time
Added 3/11/2010
The year 1985 was not that long ago, and yet, after watching "The Aviator" for the first time since its theatrical release, I realized it could just as well have been 100 years. It's such an old-fashioned film, the kind they don't make anymore. Period films, adventure films, wilderness survival films - you name it - "The Aviator" feels like it's from another dimension. It wears these sensibilities on its sleeve, and for that one must give it a grudging nod of respect.
Director George Miller, who just a few years prior had piloted the surprising box office sleeper The Man From Snowy River, another work cut from old-fashioned cloth, purposefully sets the tone during the opening credits. We are shown pseudo snapshots of an antique shaving kit, a period water faucet, a dusty book, and we realize this is a tribute to an era when Cary Grant, John Wayne or even Errol Flynn were the kings of adventure cinema. What better actor to take on such lofty heights than Superman - The Movie himself Christopher Reeve? He's up to the task - for the most part - and gives one of his better performances of an all-too-short career.
He plays a 1920's pilot working for the U.S. Post Office. He's a surly loner, carrying the scars of a tragic crash from World War I. Every one wishes to be his friend, including the lovely Rose (Marcia Strassman), but he stares at the floor and essentially says, "I don't deserve love." He's forced to fly a wealthy teenager, the spoiled and troubled Tillie, across the mountains to Seattle. Played by none other than Rosanna Arquette (at the peak of popularity following the independent success of Baby It's You), she's being sent away to live with an aunt and hisses at just about everything around her, including Reeves. During a flight stopover at a rustic airport diner, they argue and sling insults. The plane eventually crashes in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest and they are forced to survive in snowy conditions with a pack of wolves nearby.
It's all fairly predictable as Reeves and Arquette warm up to each other as they emerge from their shells of hatred. In the meantime, both Tillie's father and the post office supervisor, played by the incomparable Sam Wanamaker and Jack Warden, frantically try to find them. The enormously appealing Warden is memorable as a handicapped flyboy veteran with a soft heart. It's all surprisingly touching (and harmless), wrapped with a warm bow. I like the growing romance between Reeves and Arquette, an odd couple to say the least. While they steal nothing more than a momentary kiss, it's fairly clear romance is out of the question (he's in his 30s, she's 17). But together, they have discovered renewed self respect in this variation on the True Grit (Special Collector's Edition) dynamic.
The film is based on the novel The Aviator by Ernest K. Gann, a great American writer of the Jack London vein, who loved flying and sailing and sprinkling his novels with first-hand experiences (Fate is the Hunter, Song of the Sirens). There are nice touches of authenticity throughout, and it's interesting to see the early days of flight and the primitive beginnings of the U.S. Postal Service. I had trouble accepting the trials of winter survival as Reeves and Arquette battle a pack of ravenous wolves in yet another film inaccurately portraying the animals as killers of humans. I also struggled with Reeves' performance. He was such a genuine good guy in real life, it was always a stretch to see him play the darker roles (Street Smart). The bitter insults are rather forced, and there's a nerdiness about him during the more physical scenes (he lacks the intimidating stature of Wayne or Flynn).
But "The Aviator" has its heart in the right place, spiced with a nice musical score and golden-hued cinematography. It's a comforting postcard of a simpler time, stretching further away.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Remake of "Island in the Sky" ?
Added 8/4/2009
Not a bad little flick, but it smacks of the John Wayne, Lloyd Nolan, James Arness, Andy Devine movie of 1953 "Island in the Sky".
Sure looks like a remake to me! Mail pilot (and crew) down in the cold... fellow pilots looking for them...
Yeah... it's a remake.
Check out John Wayne's "Island in the Sky" and judge for yourselves. I think it was a LOT better.
(And... BTW, Wolves never attack people).
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
a very good movie. i've enjoyed it. i found it difficult to watch C. reeve. still miss him.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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